An introduction to Man Ray

Man Ray was a modernist artist and significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements in photography. He is best known for his avant-garde work and his portrait and fashion images.

He was born in 1890 in America to Russian-Jewish parents and showed his creative talents from an early age. Before working in photography he experimented with other art forms like painting and sculpture but it is his work in photography that he is best known for.

Some of his best work was produced for his Electricity portfolio consisting of ten images primarily photograms or rayograms as Ray renamed them. Solarized images have a degree of tonal reversal was a particularly good technique which allowed him to show pulsating energy.

His most famous image from this series is a portrait of his lover, photographer Lee Miller. We can see he has used montage and solarisation in this image. It is cropped tightly to give the appearance of a torso and an anonymous object. She is like a type of goddess. The new, modern energy system is rooted in the new goddess.  

I feel there is a definite energy in this image. It is surreal and irrational. He has given us the opportunity to view the unviewable - electricity.

"Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask 'how', while others of a more curious nature will ask 'why'. Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information."

Looking back at my work on assignment 4 on this course I found myself at a crossroads in relation to my photography. This section forced me to delve into the unknown and leave the technical considerations behind. I realise now that my technical ability has improved which will enable me to become a lot more creative in my work.

I like May Ray's ability to capture things that we can't necessarily see like electricity for example. I am also keen to experiment with some of the techniques he has used in his work.

The National Portrait Gallery is running an exhibition of Man Ray's portraits from 7 February to 27 May and I am looking forward to going. I feel that it will be a great opportunity to see more of his work and to learn more about surrealism in portraits.